WP: Putting the Risk in Bush's Lap (immigration issue)

Friday, April 7, 2006; A10

The bipartisan breakthrough on immigration in the Senate underscored the urgency among leading Republicans to undo the political damage they feel was inflicted by a punitive measure passed earlier by the House. But the pending deal puts pressure on President Bush to guide his fractured party to a final compromise that can win approval of both chambers of Congress.

For the past six years, Bush has sought to expand the GOP coalition by appealing to the fast-growing Hispanic community. That project has produced enough success to convince many Democrats that unless those gains are checked or reversed, Republicans could enjoy a long period of political dominance.

But Republican divisions over immigration put the Bush political project at risk. The president finds himself caught in a battle pitting what has been his most important constituency -- conservative Republicans angry over the flood of illegal immigrants -- against what he and advisers such as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove regard as an emerging GOP constituency -- Latinos.

Many Republican strategists fear that the wrong outcome on immigration, one that deals with border security without dealing with the status of the roughly 12 million immigrants who are in the United States illegally, could set the party back a decade or more in its efforts to attract Latino votes.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/06/AR2006040601893.html